Following up the events from Booze Cruise, Michael starts unsubtly teasing Jim in public about his crush on Pam. Jim implores him not to spread the secret around, but how do you keep the worst secret-keeper in the world at bay?
So far this is probably the hardest episode of the show I've sat through. But that's not to say it isn't funny. Michael's feeble attempts to become best friends with Jim provide a lot of amusement. The scene where they are having lunch at Hooters is a particular standout. Jim is still a bit uncomfortable around Michael, but it's still kind of a nice moment between them.
Dwight gets some good moments as usual. Seeing Rainn Wilson having to deliver the tongue twister "Otherwise, it's just malfeasance for malfeasance's sake." got a huge laugh out of me. The fact that Dwight stumbles a bit trying to say it only makes it funnier.
Despite how hard it is for Mike to keep a secret, he's still very guarded when it comes to Jim. His pure annoyance at Stanley trying to get a soda out of the machine when he wants to be alone with Jim has such a small, but perfect payoff. You want your soda? Go ahead. Here's a brand you will hate.
When Michael clumsily spills the beans in front of the other coworkers is when the seat squirming commences. Everybody starts chattering about the not-quite-lovebirds like a bunch of school kids, which means Jim has to tell Pam as soon as possible, or the situation will be made even more embarrassing by her finding it out from somewhere else. I had to pause this scene twice when I watched it since I was expecting the absolute worst. Thankfully it doesn't go as poorly as you might expect. But there's a catch: Jim constructs a white lie revealing his crush on her by claiming it was years ago and he now doesn't feel that way anymore.
You feel a little annoyed at Jim for not being totally honest, but it's understandable why he isn't. I once revealed a crush I had to a girl who was already in a relationship, and it went far worse than we see here. Of course though it wouldn't be The Office if things didn't escalate further, so when Michael unnecessarily starts apologizing to Pam he reveals the info Jim kept hidden from her. She reacts in a confused fashion and Michael retracts what he said, but it's obvious that she takes what he said seriously. So now there's no telling what will happen next...
However, as awkward as this episode may be it's still very well-written. The story is one of the season's most memorable ones, and Michael's clingy nature is starting to take on such extremes that you're just begging for the man to get some help. The saddest part is that Jim probably the closest thing he has to making a friend, and even he mostly hangs out with him out of pity.
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